Here’s The Judge Who Just Said ‘No’ To Obama’s Amnesty, ‘Yes’ To The Constitution

It was not really a surprise ruling, but it was a welcome and important one for Texas and a coalition of states that had sued to stop President Obama’s executive action to grant amnesty to as many as 5 million illegal immigrants.

As Western Journalism reported some ten days ago, pro-immigration activists had predicted the ruling that has just been handed down by a federal judge in Texas — an order temporarily blocking what many believe to be Obama’s unconstitutional action deferring deportation.

From the courthouse in Brownsville, TX, Judge Andrew Hanen late Monday essentially agreed with the states’ argument that Obama changed immigration law on his own, without congressional authority, thus placing a terrible financial burden on states.

“The court finds that the government’s failure to secure the border has exacerbated illegal immigration into this country.”

“Further, the record supports the finding that this lack of enforcement, combined with the country’s high rate of illegal immigration, significantly drains the states’ resources.”

The Washington Times notes that the judge’s order comes just hours before the federal government was set to begin accepting from illegal immigrants applications for amnesty — the process was to start on Wednesday.

Judge Hanen’s injunction doesn’t halt Obama’s unilateral orders permanently, it only blocks them temporarily, allowing the coalition of states led by Texas more time to pursue its lawsuit through the legal system.

“The court finds, when taking into consideration the interests of all concerned, the equities strongly favor the issuance of an injunction to preserve the status quo,” Judge Hanen wrote.

“It is preferable to have the legality of these actions determined before the fates of over four million individuals are decided. An injunction is the only way to accomplish that goal.”

Naturally, the Obama administration wasted no time in blasting the judge’s order, saying it “wrongly prevents these lawful, commonsense policies from taking effect and the Department of Justice has indicated that it will appeal that decision.”

The man the Obama White House says got it wrong, Judge Andrew Hanen, was appointed to the federal bench by President George W. Bush. His previous ruling on the Obama administration’s constitutionally questionable immigration actions was the reason amnesty supporters thought he would issue the injunction he just handed down.

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The Washington Times explains:

In that ruling, Judge Hanen had spotted the surge of illegal immigrant children crossing the border earlier on, and had been critical of how Homeland Security officials had handled it, accusing them of being complicit in human trafficking because they would deliver the children to their illegal immigrant parents in the U.S. without trying to deport either party.

Though an appeal of Judge Hanen’s latest ruling is expected, it is not known whether it can be submitted to the circuit court in New Orleans before Obama’s order was set to take effect on Wednesday.